# Nawal
**Nawal** (نوال), also billed as Nawal El Kuwaitia or Nawal El Kuwaiti, is a Kuwaiti female singer born Nawal Thaher Habib Al-Zaid in 1966 in Kuwait. A Khaliji superstar popular throughout the [Persian Gulf](https://www.edgepedia.org/persian-gulf) states, with a following extending to Egypt and Lebanon, she has recorded since 1983 and is counted among the singers who carried the Kuwaiti song of the 1980s across the [Arab world](https://www.edgepedia.org/arab-world).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nawal-mn0000318547) • [2](https://open.spotify.com/artist/0tXhJYYqOvjLSHw4v9rgEA) • [3](https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1462258976181538000) • [4](https://doi.org/10.21608/jfma.2025.320675.1947)
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Nawal Thaher Habib Al-Zaid (نوال طاهر حبيب الزيد)[3](https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1462258976181538000) |
| Born | 1966, Kuwait[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nawal-mn0000318547) |
| Debut | Commercial recording debut 1983; first concert 1984[2](https://open.spotify.com/artist/0tXhJYYqOvjLSHw4v9rgEA) |
| Breakthrough song | «أربع سنين» (Arbaa Sanin / Four Years), from her first cassette[3](https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1462258976181538000) |
| Chart peak | Nawal 2016: number one on the iTunes Arabic chart, number two worldwide[5](https://yafa.news/archives/199415) |
| Recent releases | Al Ard (2023), Ana W Ozoof (2024), Qatar 2024 (2025), Jalsat - Riyadh Season 2024, mini album «أنا والصيف» (June 2025)[6](https://music.apple.com/eg/artist/nawal/157725745) |
| Spouse | Composer Mishaal Al-Arouj, married 4 March 2009[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16756784/) |
## Early life and debut
Nawal was born in Kuwait in 1966.[3](https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1462258976181538000) She studied at the Higher Institute of Musical Arts in Kuwait.[8](https://elcinema.com/en/person/1981989) According to a Kuwaiti press retrospective, her real career start came in 1984, when the composer Rashed Al-Khadr, then a teaching assistant at the institute where she was a student, heard her voice and adopted her as a protégée; her first cassette carried songs with lyrics by Abdullatif Al-Banai and music by Rashed Al-Khadr, and its best-known track, «أربع سنين» (Arbaa Sanin, Four Years), brought her her first wide fame.[3](https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1462258976181538000)
Her first stage appearances came in that debut year: a concert in Bahrain, followed by another in London.[3](https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1462258976181538000) A 2025 Helwan University study of the Kuwaiti song in the last quarter of the twentieth century places her among the singers of the 1980s generation, alongside Abdul Al-Ruwaished, Nabil Shuail, Mohammed Al-Balushi, and Al-Anoud, who shaped the spread of the Kuwaiti song in that decade.[4](https://doi.org/10.21608/jfma.2025.320675.1947) The same study notes that the 1980s Kuwaiti song owed much of its reach to television, then the only visual medium carrying it across the Arab world; the retrospective adds that her rise was helped by the scarcity of female voices in the Kuwaiti scene of the time, especially after the death of the singer Aisha Al-Murta'a.[4](https://doi.org/10.21608/jfma.2025.320675.1947) • [3](https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1462258976181538000)
## Career and discography
Untitled albums are a convention of her catalog: from the beginning of her recording career she left her albums untitled, so they are generally billed by release year, as in Nawal 2006 and Nawal 2016.[2](https://open.spotify.com/artist/0tXhJYYqOvjLSHw4v9rgEA)
Her path was interrupted twice. In late 1985 she stopped singing for reasons outside her will, returning later with successful albums, including work with the composer Ghannam Al-Daikan on «أنينة» (Aneena); her 1989 third album included «يزيد شوقي», her first use of melodic material drawn from Moroccan heritage.[3](https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1462258976181538000) After establishing herself in the 1980s she then took a five-year sabbatical in the early to mid-1990s, returning in the mid-1990s with the hit «كن ودي ألتقيك» (Kan Widdi Niltiki), a duet with the Saudi singer Abdullah Rashad, after which she rose to superstardom in the Arab world.[6](https://music.apple.com/eg/artist/nawal/157725745) • [2](https://open.spotify.com/artist/0tXhJYYqOvjLSHw4v9rgEA) In later years she made greater efforts to cross over to international markets, especially Egypt.[2](https://open.spotify.com/artist/0tXhJYYqOvjLSHw4v9rgEA)
Recent albums listed on her Apple Music page are Nawal 2016, Vol. 1 & 2 (2016), Sbad Sbad (2019), Al Haneen (2019), Al Ard (2023), Ana W Ozoof (2024), and Qatar 2024 (2025).[6](https://music.apple.com/eg/artist/nawal/157725745) Her top songs there include «ماهو وقتك» (Maho Wagtek, from Ana W Alseef, 2025), «مكانك مبين» (Makanak Mbyen), and «الراية البيضاء» (Al Raya Al Baida, both from Al Haneen, 2019), and «أيام حبك» (Ayyam Hobbak, from Nawal 2006).[6](https://music.apple.com/eg/artist/nawal/157725745)
## By the numbers
Her clearest documented chart peak came with Nawal 2016, which reached number one on the iTunes Arabic-language sales chart and number two on the worldwide iTunes chart.[5](https://yafa.news/archives/199415) In June 2025 the hashtag «أنا والصيف» topped trends at number one in Saudi Arabia and fourth globally on the X platform after the release of the mini album of the same name.[9](https://www.okaz.com.sa/culture/art/2201611)
## Songwriters, composers and labels
Rashed Al-Khadr, the composer who launched her, wrote the music of her first cassette.[3](https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1462258976181538000) In 1985 she recorded two national songs, «عرس الخليج» (Urs al-Khalij), and «نسيج النور» (Naseej al-Nour), with lyrics by Yaqoub Al-Subaie and music by Anwar Abdullah, broadcast for the [Gulf Cooperation Council](https://www.edgepedia.org/gulf-cooperation-council) summit.[3](https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1462258976181538000) Later collaborators named in her recent credits include the poet Badr Boursli, the composer and her husband Mishaal Al-Arouj, the poet Abdullah Al-Mulhim, and the composer Khalid Al-Muraykhi.[10](https://www.aljarida.com/article/101236) • [11](https://www.khaligyoun.com/283718/) • [12](https://www.trendreel.ae/14643) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16756784/)
She has been married to the composer Mishaal Al-Arouj since 4 March 2009.[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16756784/) Her recent releases have come through Rotana: the mini album «أنا والصيف» was produced by the company, and the Founding Day song «قدام قدام» was released via Rotana Music on YouTube.[9](https://www.okaz.com.sa/culture/art/2201611) • [12](https://www.trendreel.ae/14643)
## Recent developments
The album Al Ard (2023) was rolled out song by song: its first release, «زينة أيامي» (Zeinat Ayyami), appeared on YouTube, Anghami, Deezer, and Spotify, with lyrics by Badr Boursli, composition by Mishaal Al-Arouj, arrangement by Mishari Al-Yatem, and percussion by Hani Khrije's band.[11](https://www.khaligyoun.com/283718/) In 2024 she released the singles «وداع أفضل» (Wedaa Afdal), «يا لايم المشتاق» (Ya Layem El Mshtag), and «مانب ندن لك» (Maneb Nedn Lak).[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16756784/)
On 15 February 2025 she released the patriotic song «قدام قدام» (Qedam Qedam) for Saudi Founding Day, with lyrics by Khalid Al-Muraykhi, composition by Mohammed Al-Balushi and arrangement by Dr. Adnan Abdullah.[12](https://www.trendreel.ae/14643) On 20 February 2025 she was scheduled to perform a joint concert with Ahlam at Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh as part of Layali al-Ta'sees (Founding Nights).[12](https://www.trendreel.ae/14643) The live album Jalsat - [Riyadh Season](https://www.edgepedia.org/riyadh-season) 2024, released in 2025, documents performances such as «نساني» (Nasani) and «يا لايم المشتاق».[6](https://music.apple.com/eg/artist/nawal/157725745) On 22 June 2025 she released the three-song single Ana W Alseef, whose songs include «وسط جدة» (lyrics Abdullah Al-Mulhim, composition Mishaal Al-Arouj), «ما أجملك» (lyrics Badr Boursli, composition Mishaal Al-Arouj) and «ما هو وقتك» (lyrics Saud Al-Nayef, composition Faisal Al-Mohammad).[6](https://music.apple.com/eg/artist/nawal/157725745) • [9](https://www.okaz.com.sa/culture/art/2201611) Al-Jarida noted that the album marked a return to collaboration with Badr Boursli and included two melodies from her husband, who had given her no melody on her previous album, released roughly a year earlier.[10](https://www.aljarida.com/article/101236)
## Style and context in Kuwaiti sawt
The urban Gulf ṣawt genre was established in Kuwait by the poet, composer, singer, and oud player Abdallah al-Faraj (1836-1901/1903), with the main singer accompanied on oud and supported by the mirwās drum, hand clapping, and chorus; the violin was added only in the 1920s.[13](https://www.qdl.qa/en/cradle-arabic-sawt-music-early-musician-generations-kuwait) The commercial success of these songs led Arabs outside the Gulf to call the music khalījy, the genre label under which Nawal is marketed; AllMusic describes her as a Khaliji superstar.[13](https://www.qdl.qa/en/cradle-arabic-sawt-music-early-musician-generations-kuwait) • [14](https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/30299144/2018alsalhiahmadphd.pdf) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nawal-mn0000318547) The Helwan University study lists نوال الكويتية among the Kuwaiti female singers, with Sanaa Al-Kharraz, Maram, and Huda Hussein, whose successes were consolidated in the development of Gulf music.[4](https://doi.org/10.21608/jfma.2025.320675.1947)
## References
1. Nawal Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | AllMusic. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nawal-mn0000318547
2. Nawal | Spotify (artist bio by Jason Birchmeier, Rovi). https://open.spotify.com/artist/0tXhJYYqOvjLSHw4v9rgEA
3. نجمة الأغنية الكويتية وسفيرتها في الخارج - جريدة الجريدة الكويتية. https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1462258976181538000
4. الأغنية الكويتية فى الربع الأخير من القرن العشرين (Helwan University journal, 2025). https://doi.org/10.21608/jfma.2025.320675.1947
5. نوال الكويتية الاولى عربياً والثانية عالمياً على موقع "الأيتونز" - يافع نيوز. https://yafa.news/archives/199415
6. Nawal - Apple Music. https://music.apple.com/eg/artist/nawal/157725745
7. Nawal El Kuwaitia - IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16756784/
8. Nawal Al Kuwaitiya - elCinema. https://elcinema.com/en/person/1981989
9. أطلقت «ميني» أنا والصيف.. نوال: «أتمنى تعجبكم الأغاني» - عكاز. https://www.okaz.com.sa/culture/art/2201611
10. نوال تطرح ميني ألبوم «أنا والصيف» - جريدة الجريدة. https://www.aljarida.com/article/101236
11. نوال الكويتية تطرح أول أغنية في ألبومها الجديد "زينة أيامي" - خليجيون. https://www.khaligyoun.com/283718/
12. "قدام قدام".. نوال تطرح أغنية جديدة بمناسبة يوم التأسيس السعودي - TrendReel. https://www.trendreel.ae/14643
13. The Cradle of Arabic Sawt Music: The early musician generations in Kuwait | Qatar Digital Library. https://www.qdl.qa/en/cradle-arabic-sawt-music-early-musician-generations-kuwait
14. Ahmad Ali Alsalhi, PhD thesis, Royal Holloway, 2018. https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/30299144/2018alsalhiahmadphd.pdf
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Middle Eastern and North African scenes › Khaleeji and Gulf music: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Yemen › Artists, groups, and people: Khaleeji and Gulf music: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Yemen › Kuwaiti sawt and pop*
*Initially written Sep 19, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Sep 19, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license